With the development of the G43, the Germans had at last a
semi-automatic rifle design that could be mass produced in relatively short
order. With the subtitution of stamped sheetmetal
parts for many of the earlier milled steel components on the G41(W), and time
saving short cuts such as a pressed in barrel in lieu of threading, and forged
receivers, production time and rifle weight were significantly reduced.
Unfortunately for the Germans, the rifle proved to be substantially over powered
for the 7.92x57mm cartridge, and was prone to malfunction. Initial design flaws
were never completely rectified before this rifle went into full scale
production in late 1943, and the design was continually changed and revised
through to the end of hostilities in 1945.

There were three initial contractors for the G43: Walther,
Berlin Luebecker, and Gustloff Werke, Weimar. Gustloff guns bear the BCD code
and WaA749 and WaA134 proof marks. Berlin Luebecker (BLM) changed their three
letter code from DUV to QVE in 1945, but these guns still bear the WaA214 proof
marks. Other factories slated to produce the G43 were Mauser Werke Boringswalde
and J.P. Sauer and Sohn around or about June of 1944, however, this never took
place. All rifles produced by all factories were to have an integral scope
mounting rail milled into the right rear of the receiver. This was the first
serious
attempt at a standardized sniping rifle. All G43's would conceivably have the
capacity to mount a telescopic sight if and when the need arose in the field.
The Gw Zf4 sight was designed specifically with this in mind (although versions
were also later used to some small extent on the Mp44, Fg42, and K98k.
Approximately 50,000 rifles which were actually intended to be snipers were
produced. Due to hurried production, sabotage, and limitations to design of both
scope and rifle, it never completely replaced the K98k as a sniper weapon and
most snipers preferred to utilize the Mauser.

The Gewehr 43 was never mass produced and was never general issue, the
official list of issued units was to be 1 in every platoon, and those were to be
issued to a select specialist (designated marksman/engineer). Despite the Gewehr
being a good improvement over the problematic Gewehr 41, and being a more
effective combat rifle over slower bolt-action rifles, the Gewehr 43 was never
as reliable or as robust and simple as the Allied rifles like the American M1
Garand and Russian SVT-40, nor was the G43 a common enough rifle, for every 1
Gewehr 43 produced by the Germans, the Americans produced 50 Garands (as the
primary American service rifle and the first semi-automatic to general issue in
any force) and the Soviets produced 20 SVTs. Though the Gewehr 43 was generally
considered to be a good semi-automatic rifle, had good accuracy, and did fairly
well in combat (better than the G41), it was more complicated to produce than
Allied rifles, and was not as mechanically reliable as American and Russian
semi-automatic rifles, the Germans were fighting against the tide of war, and
the Gewehr rifles were produced much more crudely and primitively than the
Allied weapon factories. Since it was never generally issued, or mass produced,
the Gewehr 43 was never a big contender among Nations with general issue
semi-automatic rifles like the U.S. and the USSR.